4 positive effects of sleep on physical performance according to science | health

When we ask ourselves what makes a great athlete, few people imagine that sleep can play an important role.

But many of the world’s best athletes claim that Sleep is an essential part of your training routine – and the secret of helping them perform.

Serena Williams, for example, strives to get eight hours of sleep every night. NBA star LeBron James strives for eight to 10 hours of sleep, while football legend Tom Brady says he goes to bed earlier and sleeps at least nine hours.

Not surprisingly, since then Sleep plays a key role in the metabolism and growth and repair of tissues (such as our muscles) and ensures that memory, reaction time and decision making function optimally.. All of these processes affect athletic performance.

But it’s not just performance athletes that can benefit from an adequate night’s sleep.

Here are some of the ways sleep improves your fitness:

Exercise is great for improving air conditioning. It improves aerobic capacity (the ability to run or cycle faster with a heavier load) and efficiency (which means your body needs less oxygen to run or cycle at the same pace).

One of the factors that contribute to improving aerobic capacity is function mitochondria; in the organism.

Research has shown that sleep badly (Only four hours a night for five nights) It can Decreased mitochondrial function in healthy people.

High-intensity interval training has been shown to alleviate these deficiencies in the short term (over five days).

However, it is currently unclear how these impairments will affect long-term exercise adaptations.

So it’s best to get a good night’s sleep if one of your goals is to improve your aerobic capacity.

Sleep is also important if you want it Develop strength or muscle.

Muscle growth occurs when new proteins are added to the muscle structure – a process known as “muscle protein synthesis”.

This process is triggered by exercise and food intake (particularly protein) and can continue for at least 24 hours after training.

This indicates that sleep badly can make more difficult So the body wins muscle mass.

You hormones act like chemical messengers that contribute to a range of functions throughout the body, such as tissue growth and development.

The hormones involved in these building processes may be called hormones.anabolic“.

Two anabolic hormones – testosterone and the Growth hormonewhich are released during sleep – may also be important for recovery and adaptation to exercise.

These hormones play different roles in the body and are linked To build a better body (less body fat and more muscle mass).

More muscle mass and less body fat can be beneficial for exercise and health.

Restricting sleep for a similar duration also alters the release of growth hormone during sleep.

While more research is needed, there is a possibility that these hormones may play a role in mediating the relationship between sleep and physical fitness, given their connection to better body composition.

Exercise is usually used glucose (sugar) as a fuel source. Muscles store glucose from the food we eat in the form of glycogen to meet the demands of exercise.

Replenishing glycogen stores after exercise is an essential part of the recovery process. It can take up to 24 hours to fully replenish reserves with the right intake of nutrients.

hormone insulin It may be necessary for muscles to absorb glucose to produce glycogen.

This can affect the body’s ability to replenish glycogen stores. One study revealed a decrease in muscle glycogen stores after a night of sleep deprivation.

Low glycogen stores may impair post-workout performance in the short and long termTherefore, it is important to ensure that glycogen stores are replenished after exercise.

Sleep is obviously important to physical fitness, so here are some ways to make sure of that Sleep well every night:

If you’re trying to improve your fitness, make sure you’re getting enough quality sleep — aim for at least seven to nine hours of sleep each night.

Emma Sweeney is Professor of Exercise, Nutrition and Health at Nottingham Trent University in the UK.

Ian Walsh is Professor of Health and Exercise Science at Northumbria University in Newcastle, UK.

This article originally appeared on the academic news site The Conversation and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. Read the original here (in English).